English (Studio Theatre)
Review of Sanaz Toossi’s English at the Studio Theatre in Washington D.C.
The world has no idea (until now) how long I’ve been waiting to see this show or actually see what it’s about. When it was on its original New York City run my boss was begging me to go see this show, but I never got the chance because of my schedule.
I was devastated to miss Wish You Were Here too when it was in New York, so when I saw English was coming to Washington D.C., I jumped on the chance. I booked tickets for my entire family through TodayTix when they were having a sale.
I paid $150 for four people and ended up with pretty decent seats in Row D on House Right. The only thing was we were at an angle with some of the props, like the television, so you couldn’t see what was on them really.
We had the perfect lunch right before the show. My sister bought her Christmas gift for the family in tandem with mine. She’d heard about Rumi’s Kitchen, which is a six minute drive from Studio Theatre, and bought us a certificate to eat there.
It’s not a place we would normally eat at due to the prices, but it was absolutely worth the quality. It’s hands down the best Iranian food in Washington D.C.. Perfect pairing for English, which we all also loved.
Onwards with the review!
In 2009, four students in Iran try to learn English for their own reasons and grapple with the act of translation.
In this production of English, it’s all set in a tiny theatre so the stage is also small. There’s a set of long table desks at the center of the stage, a back section where characters can enter and exit from, a television in the corner that’s mounted, and a whiteboard. The play begins with the teacher of the classroom, Marjan, entering and writing “English Only” on the board. Then her four new students enter.
There is Elham, the medical student who needs to pass the TOEFL in order to become a teaching assistant in Australia, Omid, a guy who has an interview for a green card to the United States, Roya, whose son has moved to Canada and she plans on joining him, and Goli, an eighteen year old who just likes English.
Together, during their course, these four students and their teacher are going to grapple with the implications of learning a foreign language with the context of the upcoming 2009 protests in Iran looming over the plot. For some, the idea of giving up their name and trying to find an English one is absolutely horrific.
“Why can’t the foreigners respect our names,” they ask, refusing to even entertain the idea of picking a name. For others, like the teacher Marjan, she willingly accepted these facts of life when she went to England, and Omid chases after a new life, not an old one.
Elham is the hothead in the class, asking the hard questions others will not bring up or dare to admit. When Goli gives a speech in English about Shakira, Elham begins to ask about the nature of accents, saying that their accents will forever mark them as an outsider, someone who is not good in the eyes of Americans.
When Roya calls her son Nader in Canada, the phone immediately goes to voicemail. It becomes obvious that he has blocked his mother’s number or is constantly declining her calls.
Elham mentions to her that he might not want to talk to her anymore, which upsets Roya. She says no one likes Elham, and that she has no redeeming qualities. Not long after, she quits the class after giving a speech about how her son only remembers love and devotion in Farsi, not English.
Eventually, as the numbers in the class begin to dwindle, the situation becomes even more sadder. English has a lot of comedic timing to it throughout, but it’s quite a sad story. Some of the biggest monologues in the show are about identity and the flux that learning a new language and migration causes.
Every single one of these characters, minus innocent Goli, is existing in that state of flux. They are stuck in between places, past and future lives, and are unable to move on because of it. Elham marks English as one of the reasons, declaring throughout that she hates the language, which leads to her struggles on the TOEFL test.
I don’t want to dig too deep into the plot during this review, although I could really sit down and analyze this show a lot. There’s so much packed into that I could sit down with for the next month and probably not get through all of it. I can’t wait until it comes out in paperback so I can acquire it for my collection.
The show’s setup as a theatrical stage in this production is very simple. All you need is a couple of chairs, props, the desks, the whiteboard, and the movies whenever Omid and Marjan have their study hours. It’s simple, but it works. Because of this, it does not detract from the quality of the dialogue and acting.
Speaking of acting, the actors in this production were also so lovely. I loved every single one of them, and I hope to see them in more work. I think this was such a good show honestly, and will rank as one of my favorites.
It won’t overcome Topdog/Underdog on my list, which I think was one of the best stage shows I’ve ever seen, but English is definitely up there. There’s a lot of jokes and understanding that you’ll get as a Persian, as a member of the Iranian diaspora.
Whether it’s the characters simply eating pistachios while watching a movie, or how Marjan brings a cup of chai to class, there’s such familiarity in these roles. My mother and I were amazed at how the accents sounded exactly like my aunt and cousin in Iran, how genuine it all felt.
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